Coping with Covid, May 2020

At the May 8 Steering Committee meeting we checked in with each other to see how we were coping with what has now been 8 weeks (and counting) of social distancing and staying home. Several members were making masks, two grandmas were zoom-schooling grandkids, someone was enjoying participating in Color Penfield Green, one of us actually bought a house which is a different process these days, one is writing for church newsletter, we all are zooming a lot and when possible getting outdoors for socially distant essential experiences with air, weather, blossoms, birds and all the changes of spring.

We foresee a slow reopening in Monroe County, and doubt that an Interfaith Climate Summit attracting crowds of dedicated and aspiring climate activists is possible in the near future. We will have a strategic planning meeting in June, and are thinking about several options involving on-line presentations, perhaps one every month or so, to cover some of the breakout sessions we would have offered at the Summit.

As we move closer to upcoming state and national elections there is talk of voter registration, fighting back against voter suppression, and fair districting. Some faith-based organizations deal with these issues. See Soujourners Magazine sojo.net, or https://act.sojo.net/page/113/action/192 and Interfaith Power and Light interfaithpowerandlight.org

Last week was Compost Week. Cornell Waste Management Institute (CWMI) has plans on their website for a 2-bin system (it’s 6 ft wide for each bin), but can be scaled to any size. See also the RAICA blog post Dec 20, 2019, for other options. https://hdl.handle.net/1813/45758